Moderator Wolf Blitzer brought up the ad after Mr. Romney and Newt Gingrich had their heated exchange about illegal immigration.

“You’ve had an ad running saying that Speaker Gingrich calls Spanish “the language of the ghetto,” what did you mean by that?” Mr. Blitzer asked.

“I haven’t seen the ad, so I’m sorry, I don’t get to see all the TV ads. I don’t know what–did he say that?” Mr. Romney asked before turning to Mr. Gingrich. “Did you say that?”

Mr. Gingrich denied using the phrase “language of the ghetto” to describe Spanish.

“No. What I said was we want everybody to learn English. … I didn’t use the word Spanish. We don’t want anyone trapped in a situation where they cannot get a commercial job,” Mr. Gingrich said.

Mr. Romney responded by disavowing the ad a second time.

“I doubt that’s my ad, but we’ll take a look and find out. There are a bunch of ads out there that have–are being organized by other people,” Mr. Romney said.

He went on to say he and Mr. Gingrich are in agreement about making English the official language in government and the only language used in the classroom.

“I think our position on English in our schools and in our nation is the same, which–I believe English should be the official language of the United States, as it is. I also believe that, in our schools, we should teach kids in English.”

“We did double check just now Governor,” Mr. Blitzer said. “That ad that we talked about where I quoted you as saying that Speaker Gingrich called Spanish the language of the ghetto, it was one of your ads, it’s running here in Florida on the radio, and at the end, you say, ‘I’m Mitt Romney and I approve this ad.”

An audible sound of shock and smattering of boos erupted from the audience following Mr. Blitzer’s revelation.

“Let me ask the speaker a question,” Mr. Romney said. “Did you say what the ad says or not? I don’t know.”

Mr. Gingrich answered by saying, “It’s taken totally out of context.”

“Oh, O.K., you said it,” Mr. Romney said.

Mr. Gingrich continued to deny he called Spanish the “language of the ghetto.”

“I did not. No. I did not say it about Spanish,” Mr. Gingrich said. “I said, in general, about all languages, we are better for children to learn English.”

Indeed, Mr. Gingrich didn’t specifically refer to Spanish when he made the comment in question. The quote came from a 2007 speech where he said the country should “replace bilingual education with immersion in English, so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”